ADVENT NOVENA PRAYER

    O Triune Divinity, we come to you through the intercession of Blessed Mary, ever-Virgin, and St. Joseph, her chaste, holy spouse. In this season of Advent we desire to obtain the grace of purity of intention, that through our obedience to Your Heavenly Will, we, too, can transform our poor, miserable lives into the resplendent stable at Bethlehem where You Only-begotten Son was born.
Through the intercession of Mary, and all the hosts of Heaven, we beseech You, through the merits gained for us by Jesus Christ, Your Only-begotten Son, to help us convert our hearts, to live the messages of Your Mother, and to ardently beseech You to bring about the Triumph of Mary's Immaculate Heart now, that the Reign of the Sacred Heart might be upon the world.
Heavenly Father, we trust in Your goodness and beseech You to hear us, not because of our worthiness, but because of our willingness to be Your little children who kneel in adoration to their God. Come, let us adore Him!

PRAYER for December 18: Third Friday of Advent

   St. Joseph, your work has brought barely enough income for you and Mary, and you have made what you can from your carpenter's shop to provide for the care of the Child Jesus. You see that Mary is in good health and you are relieved, yet you, too, desired to provide for her. Help us, St. Joseph, to realize that God is our Father and desires also to provide for us His children, if only we allow Him. By our obedience may we shun the wickedness of the world, all its glitter and false promises, and rely only on our Heavenly Father for our every need.

PRAYER for December 19: Third Saturday of Advent

    Blessed Mother, the Baby stirs in your womb and you smile, knowing how near Heaven is to all the earth. You desired to share your joy with all, but kept silent, knowing the time had not yet come. Blessed Mother, through your intercession help us in these final days before the Feast of Christmas, to ponder in our hearts all of God's benevolence for us, and to proclaim proudly His Name and that we are His children in every aspect of our lives.

PRAYER for December 20: FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

    Heavenly Father, the angels trembled in anticipation of the great event which was but a few days away. You beheld your servants Joseph and Mary, and knew the difficulties they faced, and would face. Yet Your grace sheltered them, and You led them along the sure path. Help us to walk in the sure way which is always Your Way, that we may arrive at the Heavenly Bethlehem to adore the tiny Good Shepherd.

The earliest ecclesiastical novena of which the Church has on record is the Christmas novena, which commemorates the nine months during which the Christ-child was carried in the womb of His Mother and coincides with the 16th century Mexican tradition of Las Posadas. This Christmas Novena carries an Indulgence of 7 years once on any day as taken from the "Blessed Be God" Prayer Book, 1959.

PRAYER for December 18: THIRD DAY OF LAS POSADAS

    O Adonai, and Ruler of the house of Israel, Who didst appear unto Moses in the burning bush, and gavest him the law in Sinai, come to redeem us with an outstretched arm! (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be)

PRAYER for December 19: FOURTH DAY OF LAS POSADAS

   O Root of Jesse, which standest for an ensign of the people, at Whom the kings shall shut their mouths, Whom the Gentiles shall seek, come to deliver us, do not tarry. (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be)

PRAYER for December 20: FIFTH DAY OF LAS POSADAS

    O Key of David, and Sceptre of the house of Israel, that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth, come to liberate the prisoner from the prison, and them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death. (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be)